Universal chair and cushion cover



Jan. 15, 1945. TRUBITZ 2,367,450

UNIVERSAL CHAIR AND CUSHION COVER Filed Jan. 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1PH. Zuav r2.

Jan. 16, 1945 P, TRUBITZ UNIVERSAL CHAIR AND CUSHION COVER Filed Jan.21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 16, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT IOFFICE 2,367,450 J v UNIVERSAL CHAIR AND CUSHION COV ER- v Phil Trubitz,Chicago, Ill. 3 Application January 21, 1942, Serial No.;42'7,558

2 Claims.

This invention is directed to chair or slip covers and pertains moreparticularly to improvements in such covers which afford adaptabilitythereof to chairs of many different sizes and shapes.

In thepast, various eXpedie-nts and adjustable constructions have beenadopted to the end that a slip cover of universal character may beapplied to articles of furniture of varying designand size with anequally beautifying effect. However, these prior covers have notafforded a dust-proof construction, they have not been well adapted toconform to the corners or to the general configuration of the article offurniture, and, furthermore, the corners thereof have had no adjustingor conforming effect upon the intermediate sections of the slip cover.

To the end that the entire body of the slip cover may be neatlyconformed to the configuration of a wide variety of articles offurniture of varying sizes and designs and as an important object ofthis invention, there is provided herein an improved universal slipcover construction having corners constructed and arranged to conformthe slip cover to the configuration of an article of furniture uponwhich it is placed independently of the general configuration of theslip cover thereto.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide auniversal slip cover or a universal cushion cover with take-up po tionsat the shoulders of the back, corners of the arms, and corners of thecushion, these portions accommodating the corners or shoulders of therespective articles upon which the cover embodying the same is placedand, additionally, effecting a positive tensioning or drawing actionupon the material of the cover intermediate the corners or shoulders.thereby to draw the cover over the entire surface of the article tosimulate a custominade cover or the upholstery of the chair or cushion.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a universal slipcover which will fit both overstuffed furniture and wood-trimmedfurniture, such as finger arm chairs and the like, neatly in the mannerabove set forth.

In the past, it has been found that the fitting of a universal slipcover to the arms of chairs having varying sizes and designs is one ofthemost difiicult problems encountered, and, accordingly, it is anobject of the present invention to provide a universal slip cover inwhich the arms may be adjusted. through a wide range of sizes and shapesto obtain a fit which simulates a custom-built slip cover or theupholstery upon the chair.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a universal slipcover with a back sectionhaving take-up portions so constructed andarranged that the wide variety of chair backs, represented generally bysquare back, club back, and wood ornamented back, may be accommodatedwith a neat and sightly fit, the fit being provided by the take-up of thmaterial over the back of the chair toward the shoulder portionsthereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a slip cover of the abovecharacter which is so constructed and arranged that the assembly thereofwith the article upon which it is placed is greatly facilitated andresults in a neat and dust-proof fit which is securely maintained.

In accordance with the general features of the invention, there isprovided herein a universal, ready-made slip cover having dust-prooftake-up portions arranged at the corners thereof, such as at the forwardends ofthe arms and the shoul-., ders of the back and at .the corners ofthe cushion, and which has flap members at the rear ends of the armportions so constructed and arranged that the housewife, by arrangingthese rear por tions neatly inv the junction of the upholstery betweenthe back and the respectivearm, may accommodate the arm of the slipcover to the length of the arm of thechair. h v

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the followingdescriptionandacccm panying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front, perspective view of a chair having a'slipcover-embodying the features of the invention incorporated therein: 1

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 1 of the forward end ofone of the arms of the chair and the forward end of one corner of thecushion; f i

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IIIIII of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the chair having a slipcover made in accordance with the features of my invention thereon;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 of a chair having a modified formof the slip cover thereon;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on a central line running fromfront to back .of' a cushion having the slip cover constructedinaccordance with my invention thereon; v

Figure 7 is a View of the assembled or completed slip cover of thisinvention as it would appear when laid out on a flat surface.

Figure Bis a fragmentary view similar to Figure '7 of the slip covermodified to be adapted to a T-shaped chair; and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary, broken, front perspective view of a T-shapedchair showing the adaptation of a slip cover construction thereto inaccordance with my invention.

It is to be understood that the embodiments as shown herein are forillustrative purposes and may be changed or modified without departingfrom the sphere and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

As will be apparent from the description hereinafter, the instantinvention may be economically made of cretonne or other suitable fabric,but a stretchable fabric such as jersey or other knit material may alsobe used.

As shown in Figure '7, a universal slip cover embodying the presentinvention may include a back portion comprising a rear panel Ill and afront panel I I joined at their respective upper ends as by a seam I2. Adegree of fullness illustrated at I3 is shown near the junction of thepanels Ill and II caused by fiat wing-like members I4 which are securedby seams I5 to the lateral edges of the back and front panels. Thisfullness l3 illustrates the summit or back top covering portion of theback and disappears when the slip cover is in use on a chair or the likeas illustrated by the snug fit in Figure 4. The inner or top edges ofthe wing portions I4 and the adjacent portions of the lateral edges ofthe back port on are cut away arcuately to define apertures for purposesto be presently described.

Referring specifically to Figure 3 which represents a cross-sectiontaken as indicated in Figure 1, a preferable construction for completingthe above mentioned apertures in accordance with the invention is shown.As will be seen from Figure 3, the material of the panel II is turnedback beneath the panel as at I6. The aperture formed as above describedis filled in with a substantially circular piece or patch of covermaterial I! which is turned back upon itself around its edge as at I8and then again folded in a reverse direction to terminate in ananchoring margin I9. The folded back edges of the panel material and thecircular piece I! are to be subsequently, permanently stitched as shownat 20. However, before this is done, a circular strip of the covermaterial is folded back upon itself and the free ends thereof areinserted between the edge of the panel and the edge of the respectivecircular piece I! as shown at 21 in Figure 3 with the result that asubstantially circular envelope 22 is formed to overlie the respectivepiece of material I1 while the free ends thereof are permanently securedwith the border of the respective piece H, the respective lateral edgesof the wing members I4 and the panel material.

If desired, the envelope 22 may have a piece of elastic draw string 23placed therein prior to the stitching operation, or it may be split asshown in Figure 2 and a non-elastic draw-string 24 may be placedtherein.

Referring again to Figure '7, a seat portion 25 is joined along its rearedge to the bottom edge of the front panel I I as by seam 25a, and thearm covering portions 26 and lower rear covering portions 21, therespective portions 26 and 2'! being integral with one another,aresecured to the lateral edges of this seat portion as by seams 25b.The entire lower edge of the cover is bordered by a decorative membersuch as the pleated skirt shown at 28.

Referring again to Figure 7 and particularly to the arm coveringportions 26 thereof, it will be seen that these portions 26 are providedwith considerable fullness as indicated by the gatherings 26a. The armportions 26 are likewise provided with apertures which are disposed tosubstantially coincide with the forward end of the arm of an article offurniture to which the cover may be adapted. Similarly to theconstructions described above, the apertures in the arm portions areprovided with substantially annular envelopes 29, the latter beingprovided with either elastic as described above, or draw-strings asshown at 29a. Similarly, the apertures are covered by substantiallycircular pieces of the cover material 30.

A also shown in Figure 7, the arm covering portions 26 are furtherprovided with rearwardly extending flaps 3I which, as will be describedpresently, may be tucked in the chair at the junction between the rearof the arm and the back in greater or less amount determined by theactual length of the arm to be covered. 'lhese flaps 3| are furtherprovided at their upper ends with extensions 3Ia which aid in securingthe cover to a chair in a manner to be described presently Referring nowto Figures 1, 4, and '7, the slip cover above described i applied to achair, such as that shown in Figure 1, by first draping the rear panelI0 over the back of the chair and the front panel I I over the frontsurface thereof, the gathered intermediate section shown in Figure '7extending over the top of the back portion of the chair and the take-upsections between the junction of the panels and the wings I4 extendingover the shoulders of the back. The junctions of the seat portion 25 ofthe cover represented by seams 25a and 25b are then smoothed along theborders of the seat portion of the chair, thereby properly positioningthe lower edge of the panel II andthe lower inside edges of the armcovering portions 26. Thereafter, the arm covering portions 26 aredisposed over the respective arm of the chair with the take-up portionsthereof coinciding with the forward ends of the respective arms and theportions 21 integral therewith draped downwardly and rearwardly of therespective arm panel of the chair.

At this stage of the assembly of the slip cover with the chair, theflaps 3| are positioned in the vicinity of the rear of the chair armrepresented at 32 in Figure 1. By comparing Figures 1 and '7, it will beseen that the portions of the flaps 3| nearest the panel II as shown inFigure 7 will be disposed rearwardly and toward the bottom of the seatof the chair whereupon those portions may be tucked in the junctionbetween the back of the chair and the respective arm thereof and thistucking may be continued upwardly toward the outer portions of the flaps3| as shown in Figure 7 until the tabs 3 Ia remain undisposed of. Thesemay then be tucked into the junction between the back of the chair andthe respective arms at a point rearwardly and outside of the seatportion of the chair as represented at 33 in Figure 4. It will beunderstood that the last procedure above described represents thedisposal of what may be termed surplusmaterial and that, therefore,considerable allowance is made for variations in the length of the armof a chair to which the slip is to be attached. Depending upon whetherthe arm is shorter or longer, more or less of the tab 3i described.

After the slip cover has been positioned asa-bove described, the surplusmaterial of the circular pieces I I at the shoulders of the back of thechair and the pieces 3!! at the front end of the arms of the chair maybe tucked beneath the adjacent portions of the slip cover thereby topresent smoothly covered corners. The nature of the tucks which may betaken in the pieces I? and 3D is shown clearly in the cross-section ofFigure 3 where the. edge of the piece I? is tucked back upon theintermediate area thereof as at 28.

The foregoing procedure having been completed, the wing portions M maybe moved downwardly over the lateral edge portions of the back of thechair as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4} the portions 21 which areintegral with the arm covering portions 26 may be drawn rearwardly andacross the back of the chair as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4, theselatter portions 2'! being joined by pieces of elastic 33 having one endfixed to one side of the slip cover and the other end thereof beingprovided with hooks 34 (Figure 7) for extending across the back of thechair and engaging the other of said portions 21.

Thereafter, the rear panel it may be draped over the entire back of thechair and hooked to portions l4 and 27 by hooks lfia to present anattractive appearance.

From the foregoing it Will be seen that the slip cover has now beendisposed over the chair with the respective parts thereof extending overthe respective parts of the chair. The surplus material at the cornersand that at the rear of each arm having been tucked beneath the adjacentslip cover material and chair parts so that the cover has been generallyaccommodated to the size of the particular chair upon which it has beenplaced.

There are, however, other factors which are of primary importance inadapting a slip cover to a chair so that a custom-made cover issimulated. These are. first, that the cover be also accommodatedsmoothly to th particular shape of the chair and, second. that the coverbe retained in the desired position of conformity to the. chair evenafter it has been sat in and thereby, to a. degree. deformed from thefinal position of adjustment.

To the end that the above attributes may be accomplished, the envelopes22 and 29 having either elastic or draw-strings therein are provided atthe shoulders and arm corners, respectively.

While either the elastic or draw-string constructions may be usedentirely throughout the various take-up points in a slip cover, it hasbeen found that the elastic, When utilized with downfilled constructionsor other soft fillings, causes circular indentations in the upholsterywith the result that a knob effect is obtained, Whereas with thedraw-string construction the degree of ten sion at the take-up cornermay be predetermined to avoid this effect. With either construction,

however, it will be seen that the takeup, whether accomplished yieldablyby th elastic or by manipulating the draw-strings. has a tensioningeffect upon the adjacent portions of the cover with the result that thecover is drawn taut over the chair throughout the various portionsthereof to obtain an. appearance similar to that obtained with acustom-built fitted and patterned of furniture.

after the particular piece will be tucked in as above I As shown inFigure 2, after the slip cover has. been generally fitted to the chair,the draw-string 24 may be pulled sufficiently to obtain the tensiondesired, whereupon it may be tied and tucked slip cover which has beenbeneath the envelope 29 to the end that the ends of the draw-string maybe thoroughly concealed. To impart dustproofness to the take-up portionutilizing draw-strings, the section of material 30 is provided with aflap 30a which may then be tucked beneath the envelope portion 29. Asshown in Figure l, as an' example of a preferable embodiment of myinvention the draw-string construction is used at the forward end of thearms (see Figure 2) while the elastic construction is used at theshoulders of the back (see Figure 3). As will be readily understood,when one is seated in a chair the principal Weight as between the armsand the back is against the back of the chair, and thus the backreceives the greatest amount of deflection. In the con struction ofFigure 1, it will be seen that due to the elastic in the envelopes 22this deflection is allowed for by the yieldability of the envelopes 22and the elastic therein, and thus when the Weight of a person isreleased from the back it will spring outwardly and the material of thecover, instead of wrinkling, will be taken up by the elastic in thetake-up portions to present again an entirely smooth covering. While theelastic construction can, of course, be utilized at the forward ends ofthe arms, the draw-string construction is highly effective since thereis a lesser degree of deflection in the arms, and thus the same degreeof take-up is not ordinarily required.

From the foregoing it Will be readily understood that a wood ornamentedchair may be snugly fit by the above described cover construction,particularly with respect to the back thereof since the folds which willnecessarily appear in the initial fit of the cover may be taken upeither automatically by the elastic or by-the pulling of thedraw-strings to the desired degree.

The above take-up construction presented thus far in connectionwith thechair cover itself may likewise be applied to the cushion by applyingthe elastic or draw-string construction to the corners thereof. As willbe seen in Figures 1 and 2; the cushion is provided with a slip cover 35having apertures cut at the points of the cover coinciding with thefront corners of the cushion. As in the case of the shoulders of theback of the chair cover, the apertures are covered with substantiallycircular pieces of the slip material 35 and are bordered by envelopes3?. While the envelopes 3'! may enclose an elastic, it has been foundthat since many cushions are provided with a down filling theaforementioned knob effect is attained by the use of elastic whereas thepull of the draw-strings may be regulated before they are tied.

Preferably, the cushion cover is universal in nature; that is, the slipcover material extends over both. the bottom and top surface thereof,whereby the cushion may be reversed as desired. The cushion cover 35 ispreferably bag-shaped and open along the rear edge, that is, the edgepositioned adjacent the backv of the chair. After the cushion. isnserted in the cover35, it may be conveniently tied across the rear edgeby means of strings 33.

In the construction shown in Figure 5, the take-up portion at theforward. end of the arms is provided with a downwardly extending slit 39having lace holes 35a on each side thereof. In this construction it willbe understood that the piece of covering material 40 for the aperturewill have a downwardly depending elongated tab 4! so that the upholsteryof the chair will not show through the slit 39. In such a constructionthe material on each side of the slit may be laced together to provide adrawing effect whereby the slip cover material may be drawn togetheracross the front of the chair arm to intimately configurate the cover tothe lateral curvatures thereof.

As stated heretofore, one of the greatest difficulties encountered inthe past in fitting a universal chair cover to a chair is theaccommodation of the cover to the arms thereof. This is particularlytrue in the case of a T-chair such as that shown in Figure 9. In suchconstructions the seat of the chair is T-shaped in that the front edgethereof is disposed forwardly of the forward end or surface of each ofthe arms, thus providing a cross piece at each end of the front marginof the seat.

To the end that a slip cover embodying the features of my inventionpreviously described may be fitted to a T-shaped chair, there is provided herein a novel construction for fitting the cover to the seat ofthe chair which, in conjunction with the take-up construction previouslydescribed, neatly accommodates a cover to such a chair.

Such a slip cover is shown fragmentarily in Figure 8 wherein those partssimilar to like parts shown in Figure 7 are similarly numbered. It willbe understood, of course, that the construction of Figure 8 to becompleted will include all of that shown in Figure I so far as panelsand l l and the intermediate portions thereof are concerned, and alsothat the arm construction for the other arm of the chair is similar tothat shown in the figure.

In the construction of Figure 8, the arm portion 26 is severed as at 4?.from the seat portion 25 at the forward end of the junction thereofrepresented by the stitch 25b. Similarly, the material in the portion 26is severed along the line 43 thus forming a tab 44, which extendsforwardly of the chair seat cross piece as shown in Figure 9 when thecover is disposed thereover. The cut 43 also defines a tab 45 which,when the cover is placed in the position shown in Figure 9, extendsforwardly and around the front of the forward lower surface of thechair. This latter tab 45, of course, includes pleated skirt 28. It willbe understood that the edge 46 of the tab 45 is formed by the cut 43 andthat the position it takes in Figure 8 merely indicates an approyimationof the final position in which it is disposed when fitted on the chairas in Figure 9.

As in the construction shown in Figure 7, the forward section of theseat portion 25 constitutes the covering for the front intermediatesurface of the chair, the material in this section servin as a reserveto accommodate chairs having seats of different lengths.

By reference to Figure 9, it will be seen that after the cover has beenassembled upon the chair, the tab 44 is smoothed into a positioncovering the cross piece of the T-shaped seat, the forward portionthereof overhanging the front of the chair an amount depending upon thedepth of this part of the chair. Thereafter, the skirted tab 45 issmoothed around the sides and front of the respective corners of thechair whereupon the forward section of the seat portion 25 is drapedover the end of the tab 45 to provide a neat and tight arrangementwherein the upholstery of the chair is entirely covered by the variousflaps whereby, as stated above, the cover can accommodate chairs havingvarying dimensions merely by overlying the front lower section of thechair in lesser or greater amounts. To complete the assembly of thecover as above described, hooks 41 secured to the forward section of theseat portion 25 may be engaged in the fabric which it overlies.

With regard to the construction shown in Figure 9, it is to be notedthat although the ends of the arms are square, the take-up portions haveautomatically assumed this configuration by means of the elastic or thedraw-strings, whichever construction is used. Furthermore, the fabricsections 30 have been manipulated to conform precisely to theconfiguration of the ends of the arms by the previously describedtuck-in manipulation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that there is provided herein auniversal slip cover which has incorporated therein novel take-upconstructions for the parts which coincide with the corners of a pieceof furniture upon which the cover is placed, such as the shoulders andthe forward corners of the arms thereof, these takeup portions being soconstructed and arranged that they not only include surplus covermaterial which may be smoothed over the respective parts of the chair tosnugly fit the same, the remaining unused material being tucked beneaththe adjacent portions of the slip cover but also include a constructionwhereby the major portions of the slip cover intermediate the take-upsections may be drawn taut and held in this condition to simulate acustom-made cover or the upholstery proper of the chair. Furthermore, inaccordance with the invention herein, there is provided a universal slipcover construction wherein the major portion of the cover may bedeflected by the weight of a person sitting in the chair, and when thisweight is removed, the deflections in the cover, instead of becominggathered and wrinkled upon the upholstery, are again drawn taut toprovide the desired neat appearance.

I claim as follows:

1. A universal type slip cover comprising adjoining panel portions forcovering opposite sides of a portion of an article of furniture, anintervening summit covering portion connecting said panel portions, awing member secured to adjacent lateral edges of said panel portions,said wing member having a top edge and said summit portion having anedge cooperating therewith to define an opening, said wing and saidsummit portion having a draw string passage surrounding said opening,and an insert patch larger than the opening covering the opening andhaving a marginal portion adapted to be overlapped by the draw stringpassage.

2. A universal type slip cover comprising a back portion having a frontpanel and a back panel joined by an intervening summit portion, wingmembers secured to the adjacent lateral edges of said back panel andsaid front panel in spaced relation below the summit portion to defineopenings at the sides of the cover, the top of each wing member and theadjacent edge of the summit portion being provided with a draw stringpassage surrounding the opening, and an insert patch larger than theopening secured to the back portion for covering the opening and havinga marginal portion adapted to be overlapped by the draw string passage.

PHIL TRUBITZ.

